Dumbledore's decision completely squashed Ye Feng's proposal. Of course, he wasn't actually sent to Azkaban; instead, Dumbledore had the Sorting Hat test him once more to see which house suited him best.
"Oh~ little one, I admit I wronged you just now."
"Brave, resolute, wise, upright, loyal... Goodness me, I actually just thought about sending such a good child with so many wonderful qualities to Azkaban. I am truly unforgivable."
"Good child, to make amends for my sin, I have decided to let you choose your favorite house yourself."
Ye Feng: [?ヘ??]
Although he had deliberately opened a tiny crack in his Divine Sense earlier to let the Sorting Hat catch a glimpse of his thoughts and "touched them up a bit," the Sorting Hat shouldn't have reacted quite like this, right?
"Could this fellow not know which house to sort me into, so he's kicking this difficult problem back to me? But that doesn't right either; even if he didn't know, we could discuss—"
"Ahem..." Thinking of this, Ye Feng gave a slightly awkward, light cough.
It seemed there really had been a faint trace of consciousness wanting to slip through the crack he had actively opened and enter his Divine Sense to convey some sort of message. Back then, however, he had assumed it was Voldemort or someone trying to probe his mind, so he had instinctively used the power of his Divine Sense to crush it to pieces.
"Gryffindor, I suppose. After all, my good friend is in Gryffindor too."
"Ooh!!!"
As soon as Ye Feng made his choice, deafening cheers erupted from the tables where Gryffindor sat. Amidst the cheering Gryffindors, an exquisite figure in the Ravenclaw crowd saw her expression darken, but then that delicate little face burst into a brilliant smile once more.
"Even though 'little brother' didn't choose the same house as me, it's quite a happy thing that he can make friends his own age so quickly. I just didn't expect this convenient little brother of mine to be so remarkably charming; his popularity with girls surely won't be weak. It looks like I, as his older sister, will have to vet them for him."
Walking quickly toward the Gryffindor long table, Ye Feng seemed to sense something and swept his gaze across the room, instantly spotting the dazzling girl even among a sea of people wearing identical black robes.
Seeing that brightly smiling "sister," Ye Feng also flashed a brilliant smile. At the same time, his lips moved slightly without making a sound, and Cho Chang in the crowd clearly understood his lip-reading. Her pretty face flushed slightly, and she withdrew the gaze she had fixed on Ye Feng.
Seeing Cho Chang lower her head with a blushing face, Ye Feng scratched his head in mild confusion, because he had simply told her to wait for him and that he would come find her to hang out when he had free time.
After a brief moment of confusion, Ye Feng brushed the thought aside. After all, you couldn't expect an old bachelor who barely had any experience interacting with girls to suddenly become a smooth talker overnight just because he was reborn.
Not long after Ye Feng sat down, it was Harry's turn.
When Deputy Headmistress Minerva called out the name Harry Potter, the entire Great Hall instantly fell silent. But the next second, discussions louder than before broke out, and nearly all the conversations in the room were about Harry Potter.
"He's Harry Potter? He doesn't look special at all."
"Do you guys think he really has a Z-shaped scar on his forehead?"
"It's probably true; the wizarding world is all saying that."
"I wonder which house he'll get sorted into. But looking at him, it probably won't be Ravenclaw or Slytherin; most likely Gryffindor or Hufflepuff."
"I think it's definitely Gryffindor. After all, his parents were Gryffindors."
...
The waves of loud discussion shook the burning candles so that they flickered incessantly. Seeing that Harry had stopped in his tracks and hadn't sat down on the chair because of the deafening commotion, Dumbledore gave a light cough and said, "Alright, that's enough discussion."
"Harry, don't worry. Come forward and just sit on the chair."
Hearing Dumbledore's words, Harry felt immensely reassured. He followed Dumbledore's instructions and sat down on the chair, while Deputy Headmistress Minerva picked up the Sorting Hat and placed it upon his head.
"Gryffindor!"
As the name Gryffindor rang out, cheers even louder than the ones for Ye Feng erupted. Malfoy's lips curled into a slight smirk, because in his view, Harry was much more popular than Ye Feng, and Ye Feng should be utterly displeased or even hate Harry for it.
However, when Malfoy cast his gaze toward the seated Ye Feng, he almost exploded with anger. At that moment, Ye Feng was chatting away with Hermione as if no one else were around, without even raising his head, completely ignoring the surrounding cheers and showing none of the jealousy and envy Malfoy had anticipated.
"No way, he must just be hiding it. In his heart, he definitely already views Harry as a rival." At this, Malfoy's eyes suddenly lit up fiercely, and he muttered excitedly, "That's right, it must be that."
"The reason he isn't looking at Harry, the reason he's pretending to chat with that girl, is definitely to conceal his emotions. Right now he must be boiling with rage, right? Hmph, just a Mudblood, what qualifications does she have to be my rival? Having Harry Potter is quite enough."
"Looks like I'll have to go win over Harry Potter later. That way I won't have to deal with that hateful fellow myself."
"Draco Malfoy..."
As soon as Malfoy's name was called, his thoughts were interrupted. Right now he was feeling quite happy, and since he was certain he would be sorted into Slytherin, he walked up with absolute confidence.
"Look, it's that hateful guy. I hope he doesn't get sorted into Gryffindor." As Malfoy walked up, Hermione, sitting next to Ye Feng, nudged Ye Feng to signal him to look toward the stage.
"Pfft—"
No sooner had Hermione finished speaking than Ye Feng burst out laughing, because before Deputy Headmistress Minerva could even place the Sorting Hat on Malfoy's head, the hat shouted out the name Slytherin loudly and urgently, as if there was something filthy on Malfoy's head.
Initially, Hermione, Harry, and the others didn't think much of it, but once Ye Feng laughed, they caught on as well. After figuring it out, Ron laughed even louder than Ye Feng did, considering those two were practically natural-born enemies.
The rest of the sorting concluded without any more ripples. As Dumbledore tapped the goblet on the table to announce the start of the feast, sumptuous food suddenly appeared on the tables.
Although Ye Feng had eaten plenty of good food in his past life, back in his home country during this era, simply having enough to eat was already considered pretty good. So when he saw so much food spread across the table, he couldn't help but swallow hard.
"I haven't had such a lavish dinner in ages. I'll eat my fill first and talk later."
Seeing Ye Feng digging in with gusto, Harry and the others felt their appetites whetted as well. But halfway through their meal, Ye Feng suddenly put down the knife and fork he was still struggling to use, because he sensed a peculiar sort of energy.
"Ah!" Suddenly, Ron let out a startled shriek, tossing the chicken leg in his hand away, just as a transparent head emerged from a pile of food.
"Hello there."
"A—a ghost!"
Ye Feng: (???)